Final answer:
Psychologists refer to patterns of behavior they wish to explain as phenomena or theories, with the former being observable events and the latter representing sets of explanatory ideas. Therefore, the correct answer is c) Phenomena; theories.
Step-by-step explanation:
Patterns of behavior for which psychologists seek explanations are sometimes called phenomena or theories. Therefore, the correct answer is c) Phenomena; theories.
A phenomenon in psychology can refer to any observable behavior or event that psychologists wish to understand, while a theory is a set of ideas that attempts to explain a phenomenon based on observations and existing knowledge.
This is distinct from variables, which are specific elements that researchers can manipulate or measure within a study to examine how changes in one variable may affect another (dependent and independent variables), and from hypotheses, which are testable predictions about the relationship between these variables.
Therefore, the correct answer is c) Phenomena; theories.